In this early part of the 21st century, a growing number of anxieties crystallize around the use of robots and automation, both in the workplace and in our homes. We worry about robots taking our jobs, becoming smarter than us…and eventually replacing us altogether.

A recent OECD study estimates that 14% of jobs in developed countries are “highly automatable”, while a McKinsey report from last year suggests that as many as 400 million to 800 million jobs worldwide could be automated by 2030.